2 Million Residents waiting for Unemployment Checks

Approximately two million Californians are still waiting for their unemployment checks from the first three months of the government-mandated COVID-19 lockdowns, according to the San Jose Mercury News which cites government data.

Unemployed residents are complaining of clogged phone lines and outdated technology at the Employment Development Department (EDD) despite Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) promising to increase staffing among other reforms.

"I have done just about everything I know how to do as a public official to make things work, but my colleagues, my staff, my constituents and I are at our wits’ end," said state Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) in a tweet.

It's difficult to say this as someone who generally believes in govt’s ability to help, but @CA_EDD is failing CA.

I have done just about everything I know how to do as a public official to make things work, but my colleagues, my staff, my constituents & I are at our wits' end.— David Chiu (@DavidChiu) June 23, 2020

"I know people who are on hold every day and can’t get a response," said San Francisco resident Armand Domalewski, a workforce development expert who co-created a Facebook group for unemployed residents.

The mounting claims arrive as some county and state government agencies are again moving to shut down an array of business activities as fears escalate that the coronavirus outbreak might intensify — a collective decision that could cause additional workers to lose their jobs.

“I’m terribly disappointed. The EDD has let us down terribly,” said Rhonda Dias, a San Jose resident and daycare teacher. Dias was temporarily laid off and later returned to her job, but at reduced hours. “The website doesn’t work and you can’t get through on the phone. People have to pay their taxes. Then they can’t help us.”

Over the three months of March, April and May, 5.01 million California workers filed initial claims for unemployment benefits and the EDD completed first-time payments to just 3.13 million workers, statistics compiled by the U.S. Labor Department show. That points to a grim gap between the initial claims and the first-time payments, leaving 1.88 million claims unfilled and suggests a mammoth backlog of workerswho have yet to receive any benefits despite being out of work for weeks or months. -San Jose Mercury News

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